Visual genes may become inactive in species that inhabit poor light environments, and the function and regulation of opsin components in nocturnal moths are interesting topics. In this study, we cloned the ultraviolet (UV), blue (BL) and long-wavelength-sensitive (LW) opsin genes from the compound eye of the cotton bollworm and then measured their mRNA levels using quantitative real-time PCR. T...

The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera is a polyphagous pest in Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean Europe. Salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) are the cell signaling molecules produced in response to insect attack in plants. The effect of these signaling molecules was investigated on the oxidative phosphorylation and oxidative stress of H. armigera. SA significantly inhibited the sta...

Since its detection in Brazil in 2013, the Old World cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera has been reported in Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Here we present evidence extending the South American range of H. armigera to Uruguay, using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of the partial mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I region. Molecular characterization of this gene region f...

The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera is a polyphagous pest and causes oxidative damage to field crops. Salicylic acid is the cell signaling molecule produced in response to insect attack on plants. Catalase plays a major role in the protection of tissues from the toxic effects of H2O2 and partially reduced oxygen species. Invitroand Invivo effect of salicylic acid was studied on the activi...

We investigated colour discrimination and learning in adult males of the nocturnal cotton bollworm moth, Helicoverpa armigera, under a dim light condition. The naive moths preferred blue and discriminated the innately preferred blue from several shades of grey, indicating that the moths have colour vision. After being trained for 2 days to take nectar at a yellow disc, an innately non-preferred...

The genotypic diversity of two Spanish isolates of Helicoverpa armigera single nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearSNPV) was evaluated with the aim of identifying mixtures of genotypes with improved insecticidal characteristics for control of the cotton bollworm. Two genotypic variants, HearSP1A and HearSP1B, were cloned in vitro from the most pathogenic wild-type isolate of the Iberian Peninsula, HearSN...

Transgenic maize expressing toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) may be commercially planted in northern China where Bt cotton has been for more than two decades. While brings additional benefits insect control, it complicates resistance management of bollworm (CBW), Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), a common target and maize. Here we developed two-locus po...